‘If the shoe were on the other foot, and she had been a Republican secretary of state, I’m quite sure the Democrats would be holding hearings’. Clinton handled Republican questions with a calm demeanor, and afterward panel chair Trey Gowdy, Republican congressmember of South Carolina, admitted the hearing failed to turn up anything new.
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So Clinton has emerged from this politically unscathed, and it’s Republicans who are are on the hot seat now.
“Based on her demeanor and body language I knew she wasn’t telling me the truth”, he added. And let me assure you why it’s not. “This investigation is about four people who were killed representing our country on foreign soil”.
In total, Clinton fielded more than 300 questions, and the questioning grew more intense as the hearing stretched into the night.
“From the very beginning, Chuck, I said we were looking for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”, Cummings said.
Speaking more generally about the Obama/Biden era, the former Secretary of State said, “I want to build on the progress that they are leaving behind”. “I’ve been racking my brain about what could have been done, should have been done”.
But the apolitical tone didn’t last long. Senior Democratic aides would not rule out the possibility of Democrats boycotting the panel, whose work likely will stretch into the election year. Time after time, she refused to be goaded to anger by pointed questions by Republican members of the committee, deflecting the queries with either humor or unfamiliarity.
Republicans began by focusing on Clinton’s role in formulating the Obama administration’s Libya policy, which led to the overthrow of dictator Moammar Gadhafi. If you have reason to believe that any written material or image has been innocently infringed, please bring it to the immediate attention of CDN via the e-mail address or phone number listed on the Contact page so that it can be resolved expeditiously.
Clinton seemed to appreciate the sentiment, and as she often did during the Democrats’ questioning, she had a seemingly practiced answer ready to roll out.
“Well that’s just not true, congressman”, Clinton rebutted. Republican lawmakers and former officials were shocked she had so little curiosity about information she shared with top members of her staff, and thought it relevant that Blumenthal was working with a partisan former intelligence official as well as a longtime friend of the Clinton family.
After the event, Clinton spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri said that Clinton proved she can take the hits and not fall down.
Televised live, the hearing gave Clinton her first opportunity since early 2013 to respond directly to the fiercest critics of her tenure at the State Department. “Are they ever going to make a decision about whether to continue this?” When Clinton said she went home, Roby asked, “Who else was at your home? What were you responsible for?”
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The morning began with a focus on the attack on the consulate, and particularly on requests for further security made by Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who died in the attack.
